Dispensing devices of the kind described above are known in diverse forms. In particular in self-service restaurants or canteens, the customers can collect their drinks or soups from the “automat” themselves, by taking a container from the supply cabinet, placing it under a filling outlet, and then actuating a button that identifies the desired drink. However, this procedure involves certain disadvantages, which particularly during especially busy periods such as midday in a highway rest stop, cause considerable delays and unpleasantness for both the customer and the person responsible for the apparatus.
For one thing, it often happens that the customer does not begin to think about which drink he really wants until he is standing in front of the dispensing device. Another person who decides more quickly cannot “get around” the hesitant one, because the latter has already placed his cup or glass under the filling outlet; hence the next customer must simply wait until the hesitant customer has finally reached a decision.
Furthermore, if a customer has chosen the wrong kind of container, e.g. an espresso cup, and now pushes the button for “cappuccino”, the inevitable consequence is an “overflow catastrophe”, which—and this surely hardly requires an explanation—is just as unpleasant for the customer as it is for the manager of the rest stop.
The various drinks or soups obtainable from a dispensing device can be represented to only a limited extent on the switches provided there for choosing among them. In particular, it is very difficult to represent their amounts, e.g. a small cup of espresso as opposed to a “mug” of coffee. The customer who puts a large cup under the outlet and, after activating a button, finds it filled only with an espresso is disappointed.
Starting from the state of the art as described above, it is the object of the present invention to provide a dispensing device for drinks or similar dosable liquid foodstuffs that improves and facilitates usability in a simple manner.